a new tradition
by thefudge is grumpy
Summary: He grinned and kissed her again, hard and sweet. Yeah, he could get behind this new tradition. (Tonnie/request)


_A/N: written as part of the "fluffy holiday fic" challenge, this is a request from the lovely scorpio-karma, the prompt: a new tradition. Hope you like it! (also head to AO3 if you want to read it there. and for the folks who miss my presence, I post a lot more stuff on there! But look out for future bonkai updates on here too). Happy holidays!_

* * *

The usual way they did things was, Caroline would pick up Bonnie and Elena from Whitmore and drive them straight to Lockwood Manor for the early Christmas party. It was tradition, a way for the gang to get together once a year and catch up. _Really_ catch up. Everyone had gone their separate ways, so it was the least they could do to maintain a sense of togetherness.

This year was going to be awkward. Caroline wasn't coming to the party. She and Tyler had broken up three months before, and while Elena had been confident that this was just another one of their "on-again, off-again" yearly routines, this time it looked like it was going to stick. Out of sisterly solidarity, she was also going to sit out the party. Besides, Elena argued on the phone to Bonnie, she was getting sick of the same familiar faces.

Bonnie "hmm'd" and "ahem'd" distractedly while she perused Tyler's Instagram. His profile was filled with photos of him decorating the Manor all by himself. It looked sad and ridiculous: a giant grumpy wolf layering tinsel around the fireplace.

She felt bad.

"You're not going either, right?" Elena queried.

Bonnie bit her lip. "Of course not."

* * *

It sadly dawned upon Bonnie that Caroline must have been the real master of revelries at these events, because without her, there were almost no cars parked in the Lockwood driveway.

She sat behind the wheel for a minute, wondering if this had been a mistake. The gift she'd got him lay wrapped neatly in the front seat.

Bonnie puffed up her cheeks and exhaled. She was Tyler's friend too. She wasn't going to bail.

He'd clearly not expected her, because his eyes widened with comic effect as he opened the door to find her standing on the threshold with a Santa hat on, a big, cheesy smile and a gift balanced under her arm.

"Am I late or early?"

Tyler laughed. "Uh, neither. Come in, Bon."

She stepped inside and was immediately assaulted by the familiar warmth and scents of the Lockwood house. She realized she'd missed it. There was the usual smell of winter, holly and cinnamon hot chocolate, but there was something else underneath, a comforting dog smell, which sounded pretty silly when she thought about it, but it was true. There was something richly earthy and domestic about his house, and it was because he was a part of it.

He led her into the cavernous living room, decked with myriads of twinkly lights and gauzy decorations that would have looked excessive anywhere else. A cheerful fire was roaring in the fireplace, but the room was otherwise empty. Like a cabin in the woods, secluded from civilization.

Bonnie twirled on the spot awkwardly. She almost didn't see the Christmas tree. It was a small, potted thing in a shaded corner of the room, frugally decorated with a few silver globes. Bonnie remembered that it was Caroline who usually picked his trees. He hadn't bothered this year. She noted the absence of presents underneath. She decided against stashing the gift there. Instead, she turned to Tyler and extended the box with a kind of manic energy.

"Merry Christmas! Let me know if you like it."

Tyler smiled a wry smile. "Aren't we supposed to open gifts in the morning?"

That was the old tradition. The gang spent the night over and opened presents in the morning over hot cocoa and pancakes.

Bonnie shrugged, as if she couldn't remember. "It's not a rule set in stone."

"It's pretty much _the_ Christmas rule."

Bonnie rolled her eyes. "You used to break as many rules as you could when we were kids. What's one more?"

Tyler scoffed. "I was very well-behaved."

Bonnie hit him over the arm. "Shut up and open your gift."

They both sat down on the couch as Tyler set to work unwrapping it. He was expecting something low-key like a tie or a mug, but he had forgotten how creative Bonnie can be when left to her own devices (usually, the girls pooled money for one big gift).

"Are these…" he trailed off, lifting up each item.

"Hey, I saw the mess in your room. You definitely need this in your life."

Tyler laughed, flipping open the laundry folder. Next to it was the beehive-looking sock organizer.

"Oh, and I threw in some free coupons for _Bed, Bath & Beyond,_ in case you feel the urge."

He was grinning from ear to ear, the momentary Christmas blues forgotten. "You're such a dork."

Bonnie blushed. "I try."

"Thanks, Bennett. Love it."

They both reached forward at the same time for a hug, but Tyler also kissed the side of her cheek, lingering there for a moment, and she could feel the stubble of his jaw, and maybe it was the fact that they were alone in this big, empty room and he was still aching from the break-up, but she was suddenly nervous and unsure about what they would do for the rest of the evening.

She didn't want to leave, though.

"Hey," she said, not looking at him directly, "let's go try these babies out. See if they work properly."

Tyler blinked. "You want to…go and fold laundry?"

"And organize your sock drawer, yes."

Tyler raised an eyebrow. "That's what you do on Christmas Eve for fun?"

She stuck out her tongue. "It's a new tradition."

Tyler exhaled. "We're officially old."

But he didn't put up a fight when she dragged him to his bedroom.

* * *

Organizing his drawer turned out to be way more amusing than he had anticipated. Not that they were doing much organizing. After trying out the laundry folder and remarking upon its general competence they started going through his old clothes and comic books and football gear, all stashed in boxes around the room.

Bonnie tried on his baggy football shirts over her sweater and Tyler read cheesy lines from _Legion of Super-Heroes_ as they reminisced about school and how much trouble he usually got in before he finally joined the football team. They unearthed some of his old drawings, and he was persuaded to show her a comic book he'd started sketching when he was fourteen: his own "legion" of super-heroes.

Bonnie loved how embarrassed he was about it, but how eager to show her. She saw the lingering nostalgia in his eyes, back when they still believed that super-heroes were not of this world, before they discovered their own powers and how unglamorous it actually was to live with that responsibility.

Bonnie flipped through his comic, the scattered, colorful outlines of a young boy's imagination. She realized that he'd drawn most of his friends as heroic avatars. Caroline had the power to freeze things with her breath, Elena was wrapped up in flowers and choking ivy, Matt had the force of lasers in his eyes, Jeremy could manipulate undead spirits, Vicky wielded an electric whip, and she…

Bonnie blinked. She was drawn by him in a vaporous violet mantle and a dark, alluring dress that trailed to the ground. She held his head between her hands as he lay prone at her feet. She seemed to be drawing powerful energies from his head.

"Oh umm, don't look at that, it's really dumb," Tyler spoke quickly, pulling away the drawing. "You were supposed to be a kind of Enchantress who could control people's minds. I guess, uh, it's sort of ironic."

Bonnie smiled, squirming on the edge of his bed. "Definitely. I might've given you the accidental aneurysm once or twice."

Tyler looked up with a smirk. "Accidental?"

They shared a quiet laugh, but Bonnie was still thinking about the Enchantress. She couldn't erase the image of that seductive alter ego he had drawn of her. Had he seen her like that in high school? She always figured she didn't register on his radar.

Tyler noticed she was discomfited. He was about to open his mouth when she suddenly threw a balled-up pair of socks at him. And then another.

"The Enchantress demands a sacrifice," she said in a faux-sinister tone.

Tyler laughed and started firing back.

Soon they were embroiled in a sock battle the likes never before seen. Other articles of clothing were thrown into the mix, until the room looked like a warzone and their folding efforts lay scattered all over the floor. They collapsed on the bed together, laughing.

Bonnie felt giddy and half-drunk with nostalgia and emotions she couldn't quite understand. Yeah, she'd nursed a crush in ninth grade. All the girls in her form did when Tyler suddenly developed a jaw and a nice set of arms. She would've rather died than admit it to anyone. She never told Elena or Caroline. She especially didn't tell them that what she liked about Tyler was his secret sweetness and that little frown he got between his eyebrows when he was in the middle of a drawing and his desire to help other people and to lead his pack even when all odds were against him.

They were lying next to each other, staring at the reflection in their eyes. Tyler still had the remnant of a smile on his lips.

"Thanks for coming today, Bon," he said softly.

"I wouldn't have missed it. The others will probably show up soon."

Tyler smiled. "You know they're not."

"It's still early."

"I'm okay if they stay home," he said, drawing closer to her. "You're enough company for me."

Bonnie nudged his chest. "Flatterer."

"If I were _really_ flattering you," he began in that playful tone of his that he rarely revealed unless in private company, "I'd say you're the best gift I got today. And that's including those coupons."

Bonnie shook her head, fighting a blush. "You'll change your mind about that."

"Why would I?"

She shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not all that exciting."

"Are you kidding me? You're _too_ much excitement. You're _magic_."

"Shut up."

"I'm quaking in my boots just lying next to you. You're too powerful, Enchantress."

"Okay, you're gonna get it."

She mock-wrestled him against the sheets, placing her palms against his head, pretending to control his mind. Tyler held his hand on the back of her sweater, warm fingers almost touching her bare midriff.

Bonnie knew she was about to do something very stupid. The break-up was fresh. He was going to get back together with Caroline. She couldn't do this. And yet she knew she would. Tyler knew it too. He was planning to make a move in case she chickened out.

But let it never be said that Bennetts are cowards.

She bent down and he captured her lips before she could overthink it. It felt disturbingly right and normal and like it was _bound_ to happen when a few hours ago she would've sworn on her Grimoire that she would never kiss a best friend's ex.

For all she knew, Caroline could still change her mind. Could show up. Everything would be ruined.

And yet, somehow, she didn't care. Not at this particular moment. She would feel guilty about it tomorrow. It was Christmas Eve and his hand was under her sweater, trailing soft fingers against warm skin, like drawing her from scratch. His stubble tickled the side of her throat. He could taste her pulse. He returned greedily to her lips and sank one hand into her curls. Pulled her closer, folded her into him. Bonnie felt so warm she couldn't stand it. But they didn't remove their clothes. They didn't go further than feverish kisses and hungry touches. It was enough, it was almost too much. He broke the kiss for a moment to look at her again, all flush and lovely and so _Bonnie_.

"What?" she asked, self-conscious and shy.

He grinned and kissed her again, hard and sweet.

Yeah, he could get behind this new tradition.


End file.
